From Homebreakers to Jailbreakers

“Standing at the intersection of race, gender and class, Southall Black Sisters have changed the landscape of feminist activism”Baroness Helena Kennedy QC

“Against all the odds, Southall Black Sisters, a poorly funded, radical women’s group has become synonymous with black British feminism over the last twenty-four years.

They have not merely offered welfare advice from their West London base but have spearheaded campaigns on a range of issues from abused women who kill (such as the celebrated case of Kiranjit Ahluwalia) to the dangers posed to women by the rise of religious fundamentalism.

This important anthology makes the connections between race, gender and class and ensures that a neglected area of current feminist debate is not lost to history through a failure to record insights gained in the heat of activism.”

Essays include:

The birth and development of Southall Black Sisters.

Changes in attitude to domestic violence.

The State response to forced marriages in the Asian community.

Mental health’s links to violence, and the implications for the criminal justice system.

Gender issues in immigration law.

Police practice and policy in a post-Lawrence society.

Multi-culturalism versus feminism.

The changing arena of political struggle from the streets to the courts.

The way ahead for Black Feminism.

A provocatively argued book, From Homebreakers to Jailbreakers, is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the dynamics of the relationship between the disempowered margins of society and the state and the power balance between men and women.